Text of Sen. Brown's speech

Good morning. Thank you for having me here today. I am proud – and couldn’t be more honored - to be here with all of you.

As you may recall, I’m Scott Brown, I’m from Wrentham and I still drive a truck! However, this time it is parked outside our U.S. Capitol and I’m there now as YOUR United States Senator.

It’s good to see so many familiar faces. I travel quite a bit now, and occasionally people come up to me in airports to say a friendly hello. The other day one woman recognized me and said, “Excuse me … Aren’t you that good-looking Republican from Massachusetts?” And I said, “Hi, pleased to meet you.” And she replied, “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Romney.”

You’ll notice that my daughters Ayla and Arianna are not standing behind me. And that’s because ever since Election night, they’ve been VERY nervous about getting on the same stage with me again. Let me give you some advice: don’t EVER say your daughters are available especially on national TV. You will pay dearly for it.

The energy in this place is amazing! I’m proud to stand with you as a member of the revitalized Republican Party of Massachusetts!

When Barack Obama talked about bringing “change” to Washington, I’m guessing that a Republican senator from Massachusetts is NOT what he had in mind.

For all their hard work, I want to thank our party leadership -- Chairwoman Jennifer Nassour, our National Committeeman Ron Kaufman and our National Committeewoman Jody Dow. They are good friends to us all and work hard for you on a daily basis.

I would also like to stop for just a moment to recognize all of you in this room for the history we made together on January 19th. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

As you remember, the political pundits said it couldn’t be done. They said we had no chance. They said I was the longest of the long shots. I remember one Democrat told reporters there was “no way in hell” a Republican was going to get elected to Ted Kennedy’s seat.

But it wasn’t Ted Kennedy’s seat --- and it wasn’t the Democrats’ seat – it was the peoples’ seat!

We all worked hard, stayed focused, never gave up and we overcame EVERY obstacle that was put in our path.

Because of YOU, and many Democrats and Independents, we were able to turn a fledgling little campaign into an overwhelming people’s movement – at one of the most important times in American politics.

Because of YOU, our election shook the nation and turned upside down a political establishment that had completely written off the Massachusetts Republican Party.

Because of YOU, we charted a course for a Republican renewal in Massachusetts and across the country.

Since our victory, a lot of candidates have come to me seeking campaign advice – a blueprint for victory, of sorts.

And I gotta tell you….. it’s really not that hard. I will let you in on the secret – as long as you promise to keep it just between the thousands of us in this arena.

Number 1: You’re going to need to buy yourself a pick-up truck. And if you’re really serious about winning – you need to get a green 2005 GMC Canyon and put 200,000 miles on it by campaigning around the state.

That’s 28,000 miles per month until Election Day, folks!

Number 2: Get yourself a barn jacket and wear it. Everywhere. Wear it all the time …on the campaign trail, on dates with your spouse, to bed, out jogging, to church, in front of your kids’ friends. Just wear it everywhere and never take it off.

Number 3: And, I take this last one VERY seriously. Don’t be shy about pulling out those old Cosmo pictures from almost 30 years ago. That even means you, Charlie Baker!

Seriously, the best advice I can give our candidates is, be yourself. Speak from your heart, look people in the eye, give them honest answers based on fact and without the usual political rhetoric. If you can do that, and hold fast to the principles that have built and guided our nation from the very beginning, then you will have a solid shot at winning.

People are yearning for candidates who believe in our free enterprise system, who want a government that is accountable and transparent, who will make job creation their main focus and who understand that a competitive America is one where taxes are low and government does not overspend and does not try to dominate or interfere in our everyday lives.

That’s the message the voters of Massachusetts sent when the elected me to the U.S. Senate.

For months now, the American people have been telling this White House and this Congress exactly what they want…. but Washington still hasn’t been listening!

While many families in Massachusetts and across are America hurting and struggling to make ends meet, cutting costs and tightening their belts, Washington is doing the exact opposite – they are continuing their reckless spending spree, raising taxes driving up our national debt to an astronomical level to almost 13 trillion. And what is their answer? Their answer is to print more money.

Well, will you tell me how your kids, grandkids and great grandkids are going to repay that debt?

And on Beacon Hill, the political machine that runs this state is making the same mistakes. Higher and higher taxes, rising unemployment, chronic budget deficits, corruption, cronyism and patronage . . . this is the sad legacy of the one-party political monopoly in Massachusetts.

There’s one way to put a quick end to it, and that’s to elect Charlie Baker as our next Governor and give him some foot soldiers to help him sustain a veto. We need more state representatives and senators to help. We need balance and THAT is REAL change.

Like President Obama, Governor Patrick campaigned on “change.” But change isn’t always a good thing.

Here is a good example of the kind of change we have seen – Deval Patrick has “changed” Governor Romney’s operating surpluses into a deficit.

Deval Patrick took the Republican no-new-tax policy and “changed” it into higher taxes on everything from hotel rooms, to beer and wine, to restaurant meals.

That is not the kind of change we need.

And still, the governor has not gotten the message. His latest budget calls for even more taxes at a time when Massachusetts families can least afford it.Charlie Baker is a fiscal conservative who will restore common sense budgeting on Beacon Hill.

We need him leading the fight against higher taxes – against higher spending – and against government waste! And we need him leading the charge to create jobs!

And Charlie Baker isn’t the only one who will make a difference in our state.

From the top of the ticket to the bottom we have some of the strongest candidates that Massachusetts has to offer. Karyn Polito will be the watchdog we need in the Treasurer’s Office. Mary Connaughton is a professional auditor running for auditor. Imagine that, an auditor for auditor!

With your help, we can end the one party rule on Beacon Hill and get this state working again.

We have a chance to reshape our legislature and bring back balanced government to Beacon Hill. I am particularly pleased to see state representative Richard Ross running for my old state Senate seat.

His election is in a couple of weeks and I am personally asking that you drop everything and donate money and work to help him get elected. Its only three weeks away!

And, I am confident that when the new Congress is sworn in next year, our House delegation will include Republicans for the first time in more than a decade.

We have strong, hardworking, great and capable candidates across the board – and I ask that you stand behind our candidates, the same way you stood by me.

We have done it before and we can do it again.

Before I conclude today, I want to take a moment to ask you keep our troops in your prayers.

Last week I traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and I was able to meet with soldiers from Massachusetts. They are the bravest and most patriotic soldiers in the world, and all of us are humbled by their courage and sacrifice.

I told them that we are proud of them – and that we are grateful for their service, and their families’ sacrifice. They protect our liberty and freedom, and I ask that you keep all of our troops in your prayers until they return safely home.

Thank you very much for inviting me here today. May God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.